There are some songs that when we hear them, we immediately think of a movie. I originally set out to do a top ten list, but the more I thought about songs like these, the more I realized ten just wasn't going to cut it. Once I started thinking, I couldn't stop coming up with new ones. Friends and family kept putting more and more suggestions into my head. Soon, I was like Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The mountain of mud just kept growing and growing. As a result, I had to make some tough choices. I'm sure many dumb decisions were made. This was a near-impossible list to rank. And interesting choices are made at four in the morning.

But I can tell you the list was not based on the quality of the song, but rather how popular the film was, how popular the song was, how strongly the song is associated with the film, and how relevant the song or the film is today. In other words: I winged it.

Editor's Note: Feel free to vote on the poll!

So without further ado, here are 42 of the best songs we associate with movies:

1. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," The Wizard of Oz
This song has been used time and time again in commercials, TV programs and other films. Hell, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's fantastic "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" has been used in a ton of films. (Off the top of my head I know that version has been used in Meet Joe Black, 50 First Dates, Finding Forrester and um, Fred Claus). It's a worthy successor but everyone on this planet was first introduced to the song by Dorothy and the gang.

2. TIE: "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Sound of Music" from Singin' In The Rain and The Sound of Music
I'm not sure if these two self-titles were big radio days hits or not but they remain ever-present in today's world and so they had to get some love. Even if you haven't seen these movies you know where the songs are from. Unless you're really, really dumb.

4. "Mrs. Robinson," The Graduate
The film's entire soundtrack is a character in this movie, but most famous is "Mrs. Robinson." Like the Highlanders, there can be only one.

5. "Old Time Rock & Roll," Risky Business
So famous that in the past year alone I've had to see the following men appear in commercials mimicking Tom Cruise's famous tighty-whitey scene: Kobe Bryant, A-Rod, Michael Phelps, Tony Hawk, Bob Knight, Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino and Roy Williams. Memo to marketing of the world: Never show me Bob Knight pantless. Ever. Again.

6. "Staying Alive," Saturday Night Fever
I'm not much of a Bee Gees fan but there is no denying there was an era where they were considered pretty boss. Disco. Bee Gees. Saturday Night Fever. Peas in the same pod.

7. THREE-WAY TIE: "Danger Zone"/"Take My Breath Away"/"Playing With the Boys," Top Gun
Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" was the really big hit of this trio. But where would '80s movies and '80s movie montages be without the great Kenny Loggins? Loggins went double-whammy here delivering not only the inimitable "Danger Zone," but also the iconic "Playing With the Boys" track that has almost single-handedly immersed that volleyball scene into the pages of cinematic history ... for all the wrong reasons.

10. "Eye of the Tiger," Rocky
Everybody gets chills when this song plays because we all want to feel like that underdog. There was no greater underdog than Rocky Balboa.

11. "My Heart Will Go On," Titanic
Neeeeeeear ... Faaaaar ... Where-eeeeeeever you aaaaaare ... It's hip to dis this movie, which is kind of silly, but when you make that kind of money, win those Oscars, and have a hit love song by Celine Dion you're almost asking for it.

12. "Up Where We Belong," An Officer and a Gentleman
Here's another scene that is imitated time and time again. I always preferred Stewie's version though.

13. ANOTHER THREE-WAY TIE: "Footloose", "Ghostbusters" and "Oh, Pretty Woman" from Footloose, Ghostbusters, and Pretty Woman
These three are more obvious associations. First up is "Footloose" and Kenny Loggins serves up another. In the early-to-mid '80s the dude was like Dwight Gooden circa '84-'85. He had many other great years but he was just on another planet during that span.

Song-movie associations become really easy when the song title is the movie title. But give credit to Ray Parker Jr. for making such a silly song like "Ghostbusters" undeniably fun. A song like this would never work today.

Finally, whether we like it or not, Julia Roberts mug will always be associated with Roy Orbison's classic song. Or at least until the remake.

16. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
It was either this or Spider-Man 3.

Editor's Note: any time we can make fun of Spider-Man 3 ... we've got to take that opportunity.

17. "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," Dirty Dancing
I was torn which Bill Medley song to include on this list. This (which he performed with Jennifer Warnes) or "Friday Night's a Great Night for Football" from The Last Boy Scout. I will let the people decide whether or not I made the right choice.

18. "Oh Yeah," Ferris Bueller's Day Off
So many have tried to steal this unforgettable tune (I'm looking at you Secret of My Success) and make it theirs but this is not only Yello's song ... it's Ed Rooney's too.

19. "Don't You (Forget About Me)," The Breakfast Club
The film helped define a generation and this is its anthem.

20. "What a Feeling," Flashdance
I'm maybe showing my age here. I don't know how many young whippersnappers even know about Flashdance but I think Irene Cara's song is still in the public consciousness. Either way, this is for all the old geezers out there!

21. "Layla," Goodfellas
Jim Gordon's jolting piano coda featured in the second half of Eric Clapton's "Layla" is put to memorable use in Goodfellas; easily one of Scorsese's proudest moments. When they found Carbone in the meat truck he was frozen so stiff it took them two days to thaw him out for the autopsy.

  42 Movie Songs Part 2

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